1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to marking automobiles. In particular, the present invention relates to an apparatus and method of temporarily marking automobiles while they are being manufactured or delivered without damaging the vehicles themselves.
2. Description of the Related Art
During the heyday of the Ford Model T, all vehicles coming off the assembly line were identical. Identical color, identical features, identical price. The uniformity of the product line made it easy for the manufacturer to sort the finished product for shipping to the showroom floor. Now, however, many vehicles come with a variety of options and features. Computer automated manufacturing has enabled automobile manufacturers to cater to niche markets. These niche markets require certain combinations of the options and features available. Unfortunately, niche markets are usually not concentrated within one geographic area. Consequently, while the manufacturer may have sophisticated means for getting the right feature on the right car at the right time, the organizations that ship the car to the niche consumer lacks the manufacturer's sophistication.
There have been methods used in the past for marking automobiles. In some cases, the presence of an unusual feature is indicated by a decal or embossed plate that is permanently attached to the vehicle. However, not all features are so marked on the vehicle. Furthermore, aesthetic considerations discourage the permanent marking of vehicles in such a manner. Of course there is a written description of the options and features included with each vehicle. However, this is not much help to the shipper, who is under intense market pressure to deliver the product as quickly as possible. A need arose for marking automobiles to aid in the shipping and distribution process.
Initially, this need was met by a bowl that was placed on top of the vehicle. The cross-section of this bowl was triangular in shape with rounded corners. This prior art bowl was tapered such that the area of the triangular cross-section was greater at the base than at the top. Padded magnets were attached to the base of the bowl in order to attach the bowl to the (metal) roof or hood of the vehicle. While sufficient for indoor use, the flat sides of the prior art bowl induced a significant amount of drag force on the bowl. Furthermore, the thick magnet pads introduced a significant gap between the roof of the vehicle and the hollow interior of the bowl, allowing the wind to enter the hollow interior and increase the drag and lifting forces to the point where the bowl would separate (be blown off) from the vehicle when the car was moved aggressively during shipping.
There is therefore, a need in the art for a simple way to temporarily mark an automobile for shipping that does not separate from the vehicle when the latter is moved aggressively. It is an object of the present invention to solve the problems in the prior art.